#6 - Ember the Dragon

        T’was a dark, and stormy night, when Puppy Love and Dave approached the foreboding castle. The moon was covered in a thick veil of clouds, and bats screeched in the sky, as the two intrepid reporters fearfully walked on the path leading to the stone fortress.

        For once, Puppy was hoping that her sources had been wrong about this one. If her target truly lived in such a terrifying place, it could only mean that they were either an eccentric scholar, or a monster straight out of the stories she used to read that would make her cower under her bed for two days. Needless to say, the sight of the castle sent shivers down her spine each time she glanced at it.

        Nevertheless, she had ventured deep into the woods, armed with nothing but a flashlight, and her journal, just to get that story.

        “D-Dave?” she stuttered out, her teeth betraying how nervous she felt.

        Dave only squeaked once in reply.

        “Okay, good. You’re still there,” she sighed in relief. “I mean, uh, just didn’t want you missing out on when we got there.”

        “Well look alive,” Dave muttered. “You’re standing right in front of the door!”

        “...Meep.”

        With a trembling hoof, Puppy knocked once on the door.

Suddenly Puppy found herself inside a huge hall, the door behind her.

“...Dave?” the reporter asked once more.

“Yeah?”

“I need an adult.”

Staring out at the long, shadowy hall before them, the two friends both took a steadying breath.

“Okay...Let’s go...” Puppy said in a voice that was braver than she felt, before picking a door, and following it to what she hoped was her target. At the moment, she just wanted to get the story, go home, and hide inside of a massive pillow fort until her courage returned to her.  

For now, she had to settle for climbing up an enormous staircase.

OIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

“Al...most...there...” Puppy panted, sweat soaking her mane, as she ascended the final step. Her legs felt like they were on fire, her lungs were desperate for any oxygen they could grab. Whoever owned this tower, needed to install an elevator...

On the bright side, she finally DID reach the top of the stairs...only to find that she had read her senses wrong.

Her target was in the tower on the OTHER side of the castle.

“D’OH!”

OIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

This time, Puppy didn’t even have the energy to speak. Yes, she DID manage to climb back down, work her way around the castle, AND THEN make her path up the stairs to the new tower, but she was utterly exhausted.

Dave grinned wickedly at his friend’s misfortune.

Someday, Dave will learn how to keep his mouth shut. Today, however, is not that day.

“Couldn’t we have just, y’know, flown up there?” he asked.

“...I...will...just...” Puppy shook her head weakly, and groaned. “Let’s just get this over with!”

She knocked once on the wooden door. Too tired to use her hoof, she ended up flicking her head at the door, and sent the sprite flying at the door, where he crashed into it with an uncharacteristically large THUD. The pegasus smiled happily at the dazed look on Dave’s face, glad that she had managed to get him to be blessedly silent for just a few moments.

After a few moments the door creaked open, a seven and a half foot tall dragon standing in the entrance, gazing down at me. “Who the hell are you and how the hell did you enter my castle?”

The Pegasus trembled fearfully at the intimidating figure, before squeaking out, “I - uh - y’know, knocked?”

“No, you misunderstand me.” the dragoness replied, rubbing her brow. “Literally, how did you see the castle, let alone enter it.

Now she was more confused than scared. “Um...I don’t know? I just heard a few rumors, knocked on the door, and found myself in here.”

The dragoness stood in the doorway for a few more moments before sighing and backing up, allowing her entrance. “Could you at least answer if you have any special powers or are inherently magical in any way shape or form?”

She thought about it for a moment, before answering, “I do have something I like to call Tracking Sense. It lets me find whatever, or whoever, I’m looking for. Does that count?”

The dragoness sighed yet again. “That would show you where this place is, and considering you would have a legitimate reason for entry, the ward on the doors ward let you in.”

“Oh...I guess that makes sense. So, would you mind answering some questions for me? I should have mentioned this earlier, but I’m a reporter for the Equestrian Inquirer, Ponyville’s number one newspaper!”

“Journalists, perfect.” she replied, rolling her eyes.

The room behind her was a blend of gothic architecture and pure demonic furnishings. The idea of Castlevania worked perfectly, aside from there being a dragon instead of a vampire as the head of the house.

Puppy shifted awkwardly on her hooves, before saying, “If you don’t really want to, I can go somewhere else. Really, all I’m trying to do is get the truth out about the aliens that have been spotted around Equis.”

“What truth do you want to know. Not like anyone will remember it anyways.” my informant said.

“Some people will remember it though,” she replied. “That’s just what I’m trying to do. With everything that’s been going on lately, maybe a little bit of truth is what everypony needs.”

“Well then, fire away I guess.” says the dragoness, sitting down inside a plush armchair, a candelabra standing nearby.

Dave took out his notepad, grumbling incoherently all the while.

INTERVIEW

“So, who are you?”

        “Name is Ember, or Gemina if you catch her awake.” Ember said, turning to a desk nearby and picking up a volume that lay open.

“Excuse me?”

        “Look at my eyes for a second.” she replied, turning her head for me to see. She had two differently colored eyes, one purple and one red.

“...What was...But...how?!”

“I have two consciousnesses, one is the aforementioned Gemina, the other isme, Ember. They’re not alter ego’s but rather two completely different people.

        “That’s incredible! May I ask what it’s like?”

                “Beyond annoying. Moving on.” she said, flipping a page.

        “Alright then...So, are you really an alien like the others? And did a God send you here as well?”

                “Yes, somewhat, and no, nobody.”

        “Really? That’s definitely different. Not in a bad way, though. Do you have any special powers, like the others? And how do you like being a dragon?”

                “Special powers, besides generic inherent dragon abilities? And mostly yes, sometimes no.”

        “Yeah. I mean, dragons are normally known for their strength, and cunning. Not really much else is known about them.”

“Okay then, I can produce magic, move faster than sound, ummmm......Does raising a volcano in the middle of a town count as a power or magic?” Ember said, tapping her chin, still focusing on her book.

“If you’re the only one who’s done it, then I’d say it’s a power. How did...nevermind. So, why do you live in this castle? And how did you get it?”

        “The castle? Easy, I did the same thing as the volcano. After studying for a

couple of days with a few books from a certain purple mare, I just conjured it into

being. As to why I live here, studying purposes.”

“That’s incredible! Magically speaking, you’d have to be as powerful as Starswirl the Bearded to do just that! Wait, what were you doing in Ponyville in the first place?”

“I wasn’t in Ponyville, and actually, Starswirl was quite weak, he just had great control over how much power he used. Think of it like a oven. There’s a lot of heat in the oven, but a lot of it is wasted. Starswirl only used enough heat to literally surround the object.”

“That makes a lot more sense, actually. And if you weren’t in Ponyville, then where did you meet Twilight?”

        She smiled toothily, chuckling over her tome. “Who said I met her?”

“...Well played. If that’s the case, I take it you don’t want to share that information?”

        “No, it’s too important for anyone. Barely trust myself with it actually.”

“Oh. Well then...who was the mare?”

        The dragoness shudders, her mouth shut tight, before whispering, “Ritz......Korimere.”

“...Who...?”

        “Ritz Korimere.”

“...That’s a fun name.”

        “..........My sisters name.”

“Oh my. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you in any way.”

        “You’re a journalist, it’s already too late for that.” chuckled Ember.

“Sorry. If it’s too sensitive a topic, we can move on.”

        “Shall we?” she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

“Right. So...how do you like Equestria?”

        “About the same way most people like to have their tongues ripped out, their feet chopped off, and then their eyes pulled out, still capable of seeing, forcing themselves to look at their desecrated body.”

“...I’m truly sorry that you feel that way. What happened to make you see this place like that, though?”

        “My families dead, my siblings killed, one by my hand, the only one I love will never love me back, and I have little left, so yes, I hate this land, at least Earth was just unbearably difficult with school and bad parents.” she said, marking her page and closing her tome.

“There’s really nothing I can say to that, is there?”

        “One would say not.”

“Yeah...Are there any happy moments, at least? There has to be at least one redeeming quality.”

        “Yes, everyone I love, I met here. Oh, wait, they’re dead.”

“...I have a feeling that I’m running out of questions.”

        “Is it a horrid thing that the mere statement of that fact makes me jubilant?”

“Last two then: What are your current goals, and is there anything you’d like to say to the readers at home?”

        “Current goals cannot be said, and I’d tell all the readers at home to just forget me, go back to their lives and erase me from their memories. Now goodbye.” she stifly, as I’m suddenly teleported outside.

Puppy blinked at the sudden teleportation, and glanced up at the tower that loomed over her. She thought that Ivan had been scary...

He had nothing on Ember. Even though she hadn’t threatened her, she could feel the power and sorrow radiating off of her. He just acted scary.

She quickly unfurled her wings, and took off into the night.

Ember The Dragon is from Tamara Bloodhoof's story, "Dancing Flames, Cooling Ember" Next Chapter: #7 - Griffin the Griffin Estimated time remaining: 23 Minutes